Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to basic wireless call origination services provided by cellular/PCS operators. Call origination service permits a wireless subscriber to place phone calls either in a home network (e.g., London) or while away from the home network (e.g., in Chicago).
Global Systems for Mobile Communications (GSM) is one widely popular Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)-based standard used in Europe, China, parts of the United States, and other parts of the world. TDMA is a digital wireless technology.
A GSM subscriber who roams to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless networks or other Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks may be denied wireless services even if the subscriber""s mobile device is capable of dual-mode (TDMA, CDMA, or analog, and GSM) operation, and the subscriber has the ability to pay for wireless calls with his/her valid credit card. The basis for the denial of service is simply because there does not exist a GSM Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) between the home GSM network and visited CDMA network for billing settlement. Similarly, a CDMA home GSM network and visited CDMA network for billing settlement. Similarly, a CDMA or TDMA subscriber who roams to GSM wireless networks may be denied wireless services even if that subscriber""s mobile device is also capable of dual-mode operation, where again the basis for the denial of service is simply because there does not exist a GSM Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) between the home CDMA or TDMA network and visited GSM network for billing settlement.
The present invention relates to the field of providing mobile cellular or wireless telephone service for users roaming outside their own predefined service area. The present invention also relates to the field of interoperability of CDMA, TDMA, and GSM cellular and wireless networks.
A GSM MoU is an agreement between a consortium of GSM wireless service providers. For example, a subscriber of a first GSM service provider may roam to a service area controlled by a second GSM service provider. An established MoU allows the first GSM service provider to still serve the subscriber while that subscriber is in the service area corresponding to the second GSM service provider. In practice, the second GSM service provider gets paid a portion of the service/roaming charge the first GSM service provider charges the subscriber, which is one reason wireless xe2x80x9croaming chargesxe2x80x9d are so expensive.
The Local Number Portability (LNP) feature could be used, to some extent, to bypass GSM MoU. LNP allows a telephone subscriber to xe2x80x9cportxe2x80x9d his/her phone number when that subscriber relocates to a different region of the country, even when the local area code may be different (e.g., a subscriber may reallocate from Chicago to New York, but still keep the original phone number used in Chicago that has an area code of 312).
However, LNP updates are not dynamic by design and thus can have serious limitations. A subscriber who wants LNP typically will request that service by filling out a form. The phone company""s administrative staff will manually process the form and make necessary updates of various databases to effect the requested LNP. Note that LNP is designed to support occasional change of location/re-location, and is typically done manually, thus there is a scalability issue in practice.
Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) refers to the public phone networks as we know them. PSTN is composed of switches and T1/E1 trunks, central office, etc. PSTN uses circuit-switched technology, in which necessary resources are allocated (dedicated) for the duration of a phone call.
The Diffie-Hellman algorithm is a math method allowing two parties to establish a temporary secret for secure transmission of information. This technique is detailed in: Diffie, W. and Hellman, M., xe2x80x9cNew directions in cryptography,xe2x80x9d IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. IT-22, November 1976, pp. 644-654.
The present invention provides a way to bypass GSM MoU so that a GSM user, having the ability to pay wireless calls with his/her credit card, can be provided with basic call origination wireless services while roaming into CDMA and TDMA networks. The present invention additionally provides a way to bypass GSM MoU so that a CDMA or TDMA user, having the ability to pay wireless calls with his/her credit card, can be provided with basic call origination wireless services while roaming into GSM networks. The present invention addresses the above issues of denial of service by combining and integrating the proper pieces of circuit networks and that of wireless and wireline.
These and other aspects and attributes of the present invention will be discussed with reference to the following drawings and accompanying specification.